Smith grew up in the mountains of northern Utah, a place he still happily calls home. He creates kinetic and mechanical sculptures for a living. "I consider myself lucky to be able to do what I love," he said. "Creating art is just fun, pure and simple. I love the joy of raw creativity; of being able to make something from nothing."

Smith first heard about Vine from a friend. At that time, he had just finished constructing a small character, Derp, for another project. "My friend suggested I use Vine to create some animations with Derp," he said. "I had never animated before, but it came pretty naturally."

Initially, Derp was the subject of all of Smith's videos — hence the profile name — but he quickly realized it was a great platform to share the rest of his artwork, as well as experiment and play with other creative concepts. "Vining really started off as just a fun little hobby," he said. "But as time went by, I discovered it is a great way to share my work with a larger audience."

Upload your Vine videos by Thursday, May 1 at 10 a.m. ET, using the hashtag #MechanicalMash. Smith will choose his favorite submissions to feature on Mashable.

Mashable
is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe.